Chargrilled corn, kale and quinoa with sriracha

This has been on our salad counter at Miss Ruben since day one and I don’t think it will ever leave. Red and white quinoa combined with chargrilled corn, shredded kale and home-made sriracha sauce make this our customers’ go-to salad for a barbecue or summer lunch. With its Mexican flavours, it’s also great piled on fish tacos. Add extra sriracha if you like it fiery.

Ingredients

Quantity

Ingredient

200g

red quinoa

200g

white quinoa

1 teaspoon

salt

4

corn cobs

200g

kale, stalks removed, shredded

200g

roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), plus 1 tablespoon to garnish

juice of 2 limes

75ml

olive oil

sea salt, to taste

1/2 bunch

coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped

seeds of 1/2 pomegranate (optional)

Home-made sriracha sauce

Quantity

Ingredient

250g

fresh red chilli

400ml

white vinegar

400g

light brown sugar

Method

Rinse the red and white quinoa in a fine-meshed sieve.

Pour 1 litre (34 floz/4 cups) water into a saucepan and add the quinoa and salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 12–15 minutes, or until the quinoa has absorbed all the water and is tender and fluffy.

Chargrill the corn cobs on a barbecue chargrill plate or in a chargrill pan for 2–3 minutes on each side, or until the corn is starting to blacken in places. Remove from the heat, then cut the kernels from the cobs.

To make the sriracha sauce, remove the stem and seeds from the chillies, then place in a saucepan with 800 ml (27 floz) water, the vinegar and the sugar. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 1½ hours, stirring regularly.

Remove from the heat and use a food processor or a hand-held blender to blend the mixture to a smooth consistency, similar to tomato ketchup.

To assemble the salad, combine the quinoa, chargrilled corn, kale, pepitas, lime juice and oil in a large serving bowl. Spoon through 1½ tablespoons of the sriracha sauce, adding more if you like it spicy. Season to taste with salt, then sprinkle over the extra pepitas, coriander and pomegranate seeds, if using.